[Leica] Searching

[mark at rabinergroup.com (Mark Rabiner)]

Ted I remember the slide show in Portland of the LHSA members. October 2002.
They shot some Agfa we gave them in their gift bags and we ran it real quick
and put them in trays. You and Sal were the narrators or judges. Normally a
camera like club just like the LUG people are less gung ho about the
photography thing maybe more into their "collections" as can be expected but
you and Sal DiMarco  just let these guys have it! Took no prisoners! Rung
them out to dry over the hot briskets! It was great to see for a change. A
few red faces but I think people were intrigued..
It can be frustrating all this mouth watering gear used in such a half assed
way. I think if a stamp collector got a pair of late breaking high tech
titanium tweezers he's be more adapt at using them than lots of the Leica
people I know know how to use their Leica gear. Its like they just got it
yesterday. 
It was great to see  I think a few of those guys got home and bought a brick
of film. Cellophane and all. Instead of the two rolls they always had in
their camera bag. And decided to be more in touch with their exquisite
equipment. Maybe even keep a lens or body long enough before selling it to
learn how to use.



--------------------
Mark William Rabiner
Photography
mark at rabinergroup.com


> From: Ted Grant <tedgrant at shaw.ca>
> Reply-To: Leica Users Group <lug at leica-users.org>
> Date: Fri, 27 Aug 2010 19:41:20 -0700
> To: Leica Users Group <lug at leica-users.org>
> Subject: Re: [Leica] Searching?
> 
> Mark the Rabiner offered:
> 
>>> Mark Rabiner <mark at rabinergroup.com> wrote:
> 
>> Unfortunately the show and tell of pix on the LUG is done on a very very
> low evel. I find it amazing that so many of us are experts on financial 
> areas
> of photography but have never taken a class in photography of any kind
> ever. 
> Never had a portfolio or "tray". I think people who have other hobbies take
> them more seriously. Leisure time is 10X more valuable than work time.
> But it would seem that photography is for very lazy people who like to
> shuffle around an area of their personal total net worth.
> 
> In any photography class I ever took at any level a teacher would lay out a
> ramework of how criticism was done in class. It was not a mindless pat on
> the back thing of people showing each other their kids and their flowers in
> their garden or the cute girls in the neighborhood. That gets dealt with
> after the first class and never seen again. We need to disenthrall
> ourselves. See the big picture. Get with the program. Work it.<<<<<
> 
> Hi Rab,
> 
> Let's have a look at this as buddies all these many years. :-) No 
> intention of
> pissing you off as we've been buddies too many years for either of us to 
> get
> that way with one another! However! ;-) Maybe a different view point?
> 
>>>> Unfortunately the show and tell of pix on the LUG is done on a very very
> low evel. I find it amazing that so many of us are experts on financial 
> areas
> of photography but have never taken a class in photography of any kind
> ever.<<<<<<<<<<<
> 
> 
> Oh sometimes there's a shocker or two but generally as a group most of the
> pictures are ok as we're not dealing with everyone having the professional
> years of experience you and I have. No I don't mean yer an old fart.... 
> that's
> reserved for me! :-) Most of the crew are basically amateurs, or some who 
> did
> it for a living but today they are loose and cool in a form of retirement 
> and
> don't really have to dot the i's and tweak the levels for perfection, but 
> have
> fun making exposures. And the fun of showing their exposures to other like
> minded folks.
> 
> As far as finances? I find some of that information helpful, obviously not
> all. Some of these folks were involved in the financial world so their
> expertise can be valuable at times, but we don't see it other than at 
> times a
> financial topic triggers a comment.
> 
> And I can say without hesitation that I've given far more lectures and
> critiques than I've ever sat through myself listening to someone tell me 
> how,
> what for and "taking a photography lesson." And when I did attend a "class"
> over the years only created a greater sense of photo confusion than did me 
> any
> good. WHY? Quite simply because some people can teach and others just stand
> there and repeat what they've read in a book without any real world life
> experience. Or they get all techie!
> 
> And I can quite openly say since my first days in joining the LUG I have
> learned more cool photography things here than I ever learned taking a 
> class.
> 
> Besides my high school motto was... "We learn by doing!" And that means 
> even
> though we have some bent photos here on occasion the folks posting receive
> critiques and they improve. My goodness we've seen that on many occasions 
> over
> the years and folks admitting it.
> 
> We as seasoned veterans' of this craft may look at some and think ... "Oh 
> Crap
> not another flower or cat or whatever repeated."
> But the poster may receive encouragement and his or her next posting is a
> marvelous B&W image that blows everyone away!
> 
> Yep right about now yer thinking... naw you wouldn't, would you because 
> we're
> buddies! But both of us have looked and swallowed hard while viewing some
> images on the screen. Best bet when that happens??? Pass along a quick 
> note of
> encouragement or potential "how to correction." Yep I know you do and so 
> do I.
> WHY? Well as I said we're the seasoned veterans with the experience so 
> best to
> swallow hard and offer a tiny bit of how to correction to an on screen 
> friend.
> 
>>>> Never had a portfolio or "tray". I think people who have other hobbies 
>>>> take
> them more seriously. Leisure time is 10X more valuable than work time.
> But it would seem that photography is for very lazy people who like to
> shuffle around an area of their personal total net worth<
> 
> Another confession:
> I started photography 1959 and I never had a portfolio or tray to show 
> until
> 1982! Honest! I suppose my published works were my portfolio, my good 
> fortune.
> As far as being lazy at any time in my photo career is unthinkable and
> shuffling about? I really don't think so. Being serious about it compared 
> to
> others? Be in my way at the wrong moment of a shoot and I'd not hesitate 
> for
> one split second to kick the person solidly in the butt! Not shooting? "I'm
> joe cool." ;-) Camera to eye and he becomes a killer monster if a body 
> creates
> a distraction at the wrong moment or the right moment my trigger finger
> applies pressure on the shutter release!
> 
> I don't really think photo people are lazy or not serious! Oh sure there 
> are
> always people who dabble, so that maybe a sort of non-serious type. But 
> that
> doesn't make that person lazy, it just means that's their level of 
> interest.
> No problem with that as we all have more interest in some things than 
> others.
> These days for me no matter what my mind tries to motivate me into.........
> I'm a damn waste of sitting about, waiting and wondering where the next
> assignment of my life will be. Yep I'm still plugging away shooting as the
> medical situations come up. Each in their own time and my ability as long 
> as I
> can hold a camera steady in my hands. That surely does not make me a lazy
> photo person. My net worth? Hell man that's another tale all together! :-)
> 
>>>> In any photography class I ever took at any level a teacher would lay 
>>>> out a
> ramework of how criticism was done in class. It was not a mindless pat on
> the back thing of people showing each other their kids and their flowers in
> their garden or the cute girls in the neighborhood. That gets dealt with
> after the first class and never seen again. We need to disenthrall
> ourselves. See the big picture. Get with the program. Work it.<<<<<
> 
> You're quite correct, however this isn't a "class with one teacher" and a
> bunch of folks sitting about a round table, beer in hand learning 
> photography.
> This is a wonderful mishmash of guys and gals who simply enjoy photography
> good, bad or otherwise! It isn't truly meant to be a serious event. If one
> isn't having fun why waste ones time hanging out? No I don't mean you as 
> we'd
> be lost without your wit and camaraderie! And solid teaching things from 
> your
> experience.
> 
> In any event I will tell you a little happening earlier this morning about 
> a
> Friday Flower picture.
> 
> When I got up at 5.40a.m. becasue my stupid mind was racing about a 
> non-event
> but troubling piece of crap because I couldn't turn it off and it looked 
> like
> this was going to be one of those days all hell was going to happen. :-(
> 
> Grabbed a coffee, clicked computer up to speed and opened the LUG and the
> first "Friday flower post" nearly knocked me off the chair... Ric Carter's!
> Generally I don't spend much time looking at flower pictures, usually a 
> blur
> of clicks as I much prefer looking and shooting mine in the garden. 
> However,
> for one little moment I was stopped in my mouse clicking and began to 
> "smell
> the flowers!" I sat there quietly and slowly relaxing looking through his
> beautiful portfolio of "roses" and the elimination of what I'd perceived 
> to be
> a rotten day.
> 
> It never occurred to me that what I'd done was... "stop and smell the 
> roses"
> relax and enjoy the images  that truly re-geared my day to being not so bad
> after all. Kind of puts a whole new perspective to posting Friday Flowers.
> 
> talk to you later old buddy.
> cheers,
> ted
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